Staff Photo by Meghan Brown Dalton High School defender Carter Crutchfield reaches for Calhoun running back Dustin Christian during their game at Harmon Field in Dalton earlier this season.

Hal Lamb insists there shouldn’t be too much stock put into the dominating fashion his Calhoun High School Yellow Jackets advanced to the GHSA Class AA playoffs. When you beat someone 63-0, it tends to stand out.

Lamb knows all those points scored against Banks County mean little when a team from Region 6 comes calling. Private school Westminster (9-2) visits Phil Reeve Stadium Friday, the second consecutive season the Region 7 Jackets will host Region 6’s No. 3 seed. Greater Atlanta Christian put an unceremonious end to Calhoun’s 2007 season, 26-7.

“They’re a really good football team, much like Greater Atlanta Christian was last year,” Lamb said. “They dropped down this year from Class AAA, where they reached the quarterfinals last year. They come from the strongest region in the state, and the only teams to beat them this year (Buford and Lovett) played for the state championship last year. They will easily be the best team we’ve faced this year.”

The fifth-ranked Wildcats beat Pike County in the first round 33-7 and come to Calhoun owning regular-season wins over Class AAA powers Cartersville and Carrollton.

“They are very well coached and show multiple sets on both sides of the ball,” Lamb said. “They have a balanced offense, though they run it a little more than they pass it. We’ve got our hands full, I know that much.”

When the Wildcats run, they usually turn to Ralph Abernathy IV, who had 170 yards on just eight carries last week. Fellow back Stephon Shelton is dangerous also as a receiver, having caught two touchdown passes from senior quarterback Tom Moak last week.

Calhoun (9-2) routed Banks despite the absence of starting quarterback Michael Johnson. Backup Landon Curtis passed for 300 yards and five touchdowns, and receivers Derek Ramsey and Da’Rick Rogers had huge games. Lamb says Johnson is healthy and will start Friday.

n Flowery Branch at Ridgeland: Fresh off their first-ever playoff win, the Panthers (9-2) host a 9-2 Falcons team that is making its fourth consecutive postseason appearance under coach Lee Shaw.

Flowery Branch avenged a season-opening loss to Stephens County in last week’s Class AAA first round as Connor Shaw, the coach’s son and brother of current Georgia Tech quarterback Jaybo Shaw, passed for 296 yards and five touchdowns while adding a rushing score.

“What stands out for them is how wide open they are offensively,” Ridgeland coach Mark Mariakis said. “They’ll go from a double-slot look to an empty set with five receivers. They are primarily a passing team, but they will run it from the spread. The big thing is, they want the ball in their quarterback’s hands. He throws it and runs it well.”

As good as the offense is, the Falcons’ defense can be just as dominating at times with a pair of powerful defensive ends in Izaan Cross and Daniel Drummond. Each is also prominent on offense: Cross doubles as a tight end, and Drummond starts at fullback.

“They’re solid defensively,” Mariakis said. “They don’t do a lot of blitzing or stuff, but they also don’t make a lot of mistakes. The key for us is to not let their offense get on a roll. They like to get in a rhythm. We just need to play like we’ve been playing the last three or four weeks, not turn the ball over and make some plays when we need to.”

Ridgeland shut out Carver of Atlanta 33-0 last week as senior quarterback Carlan Bowman completed 10 of 12 passes for 160 yards and three touchdowns, Mike Bowman caught five balls for 122 yards and two touchdowns and the team rushed for more than 200 yards.

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